Nurturing rule of law, one student at a time

Feb. 20, 2014

Updated 5:48 p.m.

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Najia Munira Akhunzada, left, and Shamsi Maqsoudi, pictured here in Afghanistan, are Chapman University Master of Law alumni. They came to Chapman to study law through the Stae Department's Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan, COURTESY OF SHAMSI MAQSOUDI

PJRA AT A GLANCE

The Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan is a program through the U.S. Department of State. It receives government funds as well as private funds to support its activities and participants.

• Friends of the PJRA, the 501c3 that implements the activities of the PJRA, has received more than $2 million in waived tuition pledges from partner schools since 2011. The state department has also contributed more than $2 million since 2011.

• There are currently four partner schools: Ohio Northern University, Chapman University, Washington & Lee University and Wake Forest University. The schools generally waive the cost of tuition for PJRA students.

• The 24 program alumni scholars are working at high levels of government and the private sector, including at Afghan ministries, working with the U.S. Embassy or in private practice in Afghanistan.

Program enrolls Afghan scholars in U.S. schools.

Tom Umberg and his wife Robin traveled more than 7,000 miles home and ditched their “His and Hers” body armor.

They’d spent a week in Afghanistan teaming up with former Chapman University student Shamsi Maqsoudi to find the next group of law education hopefuls to come to the United States – two of which will be eventually picked to come to Chapman.

Maqsoudi was half of an exchange student duo with Najia Munira Akhunzada, who both graduated recently from the Chapman University Fowler School L.L.M. program, which grants a Master of Law degree.

Their trip to Orange County for the 2012-2013 school year came to them through the U.S. State Department’s Public Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan (PJRA).

Umberg is the co-chair of the PJRA and goes to Afghanistan to find and evaluate students whom are willing to risk everything to make their part of the world a better place. Umberg said this recent trip to Afghanistan was motivating, inspiring and intense – but also a little depressing.

The motivation and inspiration, Umberg said, came from seeing young people working to change their country. This trip was intense, he said, because there was an uptick in violent activity – a helicopter went down and there were reports of militant attacks in nearby areas.

As for depressing, Umberg said there is still social blowback against efforts at progress in Afghanistan’s legal sector.

“Some of the older generation don’t seem to be as motivated as the young people to ensure that they’ve got a just society with the rule of law,” Umberg said.

The program is working to promote and secure rule of law in a country known for sectarian violence and a legal system that weighs in favor of tribal elder decisions based on religious preference rather than judicial and organized justice.

The average candidate is around 25 years old, has a law degree and English proficiency in writing and speaking. There are both men and women, and they come from all over Afghanistan. There are around 90 applicants in the most current pool. And specifically, they must have a strong commitment to want to return to Afghanistan to use their education to contribute to rule of law and the country’s justice system.

“There’s still more men than women,” Umberg said of the applicant pool. “Significantly more men than women.”

They are working to increase women applicants and selectees. Umberg believes there will most likely be two women picked for Chapman because they have an ideal living situation at the campus.

The reason for the disparity between the sexes is that even as recent as 15 years ago, a girl living in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan would not have had access to education, Umberg said. He noted that the women who come to the program are very dedicated to ensuring that rule of law succeeds in Afghanistan.

“The women do have a greater stake in rule of law and preventing the return of the Taliban,” Umberg said. “Under the Taliban, their lives were miserable. They had no access to healthcare, no access to education. They had to be with a male relative if they went outside.”

In the next few months, the candidates will be narrowed down to the top selectees who will then be picked by participating schools to come for their year stay to learn.

Maqsoudi and Akhunzada both spoke highly of the program via email, saying they wanted to do their part in the panel reviews of prospective new students.

Akhunzada was prevented from coming to help with the interview process because of violence near her region. Through letters, each one of them gave an update on their progress since returning home.

Akhunzada said that after completing her education in the U.S., she has been working with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and is the Deputy Programme Manager for Coordination and Advocacy Pillar. She’s a member of the South Asian Feminist Alliance for Women Economic Social Cultural Rights.

“I have been an active women’s rights activist representing Eastern Region in the national conferences and jirgas,” Akhunzada wrote. “I participated in Loya jirga and the first conference on women in Afghanistan.” A jirga is a tribal council.

Maqsoudi started working in Kabul after her return from Orange County.

“Along with my practice of law, I am also teaching as a lecturer of International Law in private law schools in Kabul. I really much enjoy the works I do in these two capacities,” Maqsoudi wrote in an email. “Due to dedication and commitment I feel towards the PJRA program, I also started to work as a Kabul-based consultant since late 2013 with this program. In this capacity, I together with the two other team members in Kabul, work towards fulfilling the program’s ultimate objective that is strengthening the Rule of Law in Afghanistan.”

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